Whopper of a nuisance

It’s the height of summer and there’s a smorgasbord of sport on television to while away the holiday hours.

In a rare treat, we get to see domestic cricket on Sky Television, which shows plenty of Burger King Super Smash Twenty20 action.

For those of us living in areas where we get only a smattering of top-flight cricket, it’s great to catch a first glimpse of young up-andcomers or pay a final farewell to wily veterans.

In that category is Wellington batsman Luke Ronchi’s Christmas-Eve hundred against Auckland. He walloped the hapless home attack over the postagestamp Eden Park outer oval boundaries seven times.

As with every game this summer, the more contrarian couchbound critics among us were willing him not to clear the ropes anymore.

Please, anything to save us from hearing the Sky TV commentators exclaim: ‘‘That’s another whopper’’. Apparently, a six is no longer a six, but is instead confused with an underwhelming burger.

In one game, an extra-long boundary clearer was referred to as a ‘‘whopper with fries and a drink’’. Say what?

Whopper is a sometimes-useful description, but in this case the naming sponsor of the competition has gone too far with its productplacement demands.

It’s great Burger King is pouring its money into domestic sport, although considering the ills caused by junk food its the least the chain could do.

But, its demands of the Sky commentators are turning the otherwise pleasant task of watching a few overs into an exercise of endurance.

The situation reached its nadir in the first televised competition game of the season when samples of the fast food made it into the commentary box. This was awkwardly followed with absurd and sycophantic warbling from those behind the microphone about how great the greasy goods were and who stole all the fries.

And on New Year’s Eve one Sky commentator uttered rubbish about experiencing ‘‘that flamegrilled felling’’.

That forced this cricket fan to instead tune into the Radio Sport commentary, where proper broadcasters concentrated on the cricket and good banter.

There’s no harm in plugging a sponsor occasionally and subtly, and this happens in many sports broadcasts. However, the over-thetop forced nature of the Burger King Twenty20 arrangement shows scant disregard for those watching at home.

The sacred summer game deserves better than becoming an infomercial for cheap burgers.